Ankle injury a big setback for Trengove

Matt Murnane

JACK Trengove's plans to throw himself full throttle into a redemption year have suffered a setback, with the Melbourne co-captain now set to miss a significant chunk of pre-season training.

The 21-year-old will not begin running again until January after scans prompted by ankle soreness detected the early onset of a stress fracture in his left foot.

Trengove will wear a protective boot for the next six weeks, and given it will require a period of non-weight bearing, he will not travel with the team on its nine-day training camp in Darwin.

The Demons cannot say for certain whether their emerging midfielder will be ready for round one next year, suggesting Trengove could miss the NAB Cup and practice-match fixtures.

''We expect Jack to be able to begin his running program in January. His rehab will be continually assessed but at this stage we are hopeful that he'll be available for the start of the AFL season,'' football manager Josh Mahoney said on Wednesday.

''This is clearly a disappointing setback for Jack. The positive element to this is that the stress fracture was identified early, which will allow Jack to begin his rehab immediately.''

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Trengove said on Wednesday he was ''shattered'' to miss the training camp, and the club will be equally disappointed at the setback given it was hoped Trengove would have an uninterrupted pre-season to use as a launching pad to an improved year in his second season as skipper, and as another piece in Mark Neeld's puzzle to resurrect the Demons.

The former No. 2 draft pick battled through a self-confessed form slump during parts of his first season as co-captain alongside Jack Grimes, a year when the Demons won just four games and finished third-last ahead of expansion clubs Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney in 2012.

Trengove admitted to lacking punch in his game offensively, but was still highly rated internally for his defensive acts and work-rate. He will now work to put the foot injury behind him and be ready to make an impact as early as possible next year.

''Not quite the news I was hoping for, that's footy sometimes. Now to come back bigger & strong for 2013!'' Trengove said via Twitter.

Melbourne flew to Darwin on Wednesday for the training camp where it is understood all spots in the leadership group will be thrown open.

But the coach has all but confirmed Trengove and Grimes will keep their jobs as co-captains.

The leadership group last year consisted of Trengove, Grimes, James Frawley, Mitch Clark, Clint Bartram, Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones and Colin Garland.